Carmelo Anthony denies that he already decided to leave Knicks after season

NEW YORK – While the losing clearly has gotten to him, Carmelo Anthony strongly denied stories that have surfaced claiming he has already decided to leave the Knicks as a free agent at season’s end. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said sources told him the decision already was made.

"As far as me leaving and thinking about that, I’d be selfish to think about that at this point with us losing and going through the situation that we’re going through," Anthony said. "So I’d be selfish on my part, to my teammates and to the organization to even have that thought even coming across my mind. So, no, I’m not even thinking about that at this point. I don’t know who his sources are, but if it’s not coming from me, if it’s not coming from people I talk to on a daily basis, which I don’t talk to anybody about that – anybody on my crew, anybody on my team, family, nobody – then it’s just not true."

Still, with nine straight losses and a 3-13 record entering Thursday night’s game, Anthony couldn’t be blamed for considering his options.

No defense: The Knicks entered Thursday’s game with the fourth-worst defensive efficiency — and the fourth-worst opponents’ field-goal percentage from 5 feet and in, which can be attributed in no small part to the absence of Tyson Chandler. But coach Mike Woodson believes the explanation lies with their lack of fundamentals.

"I think the thing that hurt us, is hurting us more than anything — is hurting everybody in the league — is the high pick and roll," Woodson said. "Our bigs don’t know if we should switch, not switch. That’s on me. I’ve got to make sure that they understand when the guard is knocked off and the ball is going downhill, somebody’s got to guard the ball. You can’t just disappear and let the guy waltz in and lay the ball up. That’s what’s been happening."

Rested and ready? J.R. Smith sat out the contact portion of practice Tuesday and Wednesday but was ready to play Thursday and said he felt better with the rest.

"With rest you always feel better, so it feels good," Smith said. "[I’m] elevating on my shot the right way. I’ve just got to put it out there on the court."

Not so far this year, though. Smith has not shot 50 percent in a game this season — and not at all since the day he threw an elbow at Jason Terry and drew a one-game suspension. That third game of the opening round of the playoffs was the last time he reached that mark.